Steve Barton

Dedicated staff who have together served patients at West Suffolk Hospital for nearly 16 centuries have been presented with long service awards in recognition of their achievement.

A total of 61 staff, including nursing assistants, housekeepers, medical secretaries, pharmacy technicians, gardeners and midwives, have been presented with certificates to celebrate their long careers.

Of those, 16 were given 20 year awards, 28 people were honoured for 25 years of service and eight were thanked for 30 years at the hospital.

A further six people were given certificates marking 35 years, with three recognised for 40 years.

Together, they have clocked up 1,590 years of service at West Suffolk Hospital.

Jan Bloomfield, executive director of workforce and communications at West Suffolk, said: “We were delighted to be able to celebrate the dedication and hard work of our long-serving staff, who are the bedrock of everything we do at the hospital.

“We are both fortunate and proud to have such loyal and dependable people working at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. We would like to thank them all for their efforts on behalf of our patients over the years and congratulate them on their achievement.”